CBI probes Paytm employees role in Rs 10 lakh worth fraud cases

The Central Bureau of Investigation sleuths are now investigating the role of insiders in facilitating the fraud. Atotal of 22 private individuals.Raghav Ohri | ET Bureau | December 26, 2016, 08:51 IST

In the last one week the country’s premier investigating agency has registered two cases on complaints of fraud of nearly Rs 10 lakh made by One97Communications Limited, the parent company of Paytm.

The Central Bureau of Investigation sleuths are now investigating the role of insiders in facilitating the fraud. Atotal of 22 private individuals, 15 — in one FIR and seven in the second — and “unknown officials” of Paytm have been booked by the CBI on Paytm’s complaint. All the 22 have been booked under the names they used while registering as customers with Paytm. ET attempted to reach out to all the 22.

Mobile numbers of seven individuals, mentioned in the FIR, were found to be invalid (the numbers do not exist). While other numbers were out of reach/switched off. ET was able to speak to six persons.

All of them expressed disbelief on learning about the registration of FIR on charges of criminal conspiracy, forgery and cheating. Four of them conceded that they are Paytm customers but claimed to have used Paytm only for “recharge” purposes.

The other two flatly denied being customers of Paytm. All six denied being residents of the addresses mentioned in the FIR. “I am shocked. This has to be some kind of misunderstanding. What FIR, on what charges ?” replied Sonam Tomar.

She added “I use Paytm only for recharging purposes. I have not made any purchase, what to talk of claiming a refund. These details can be easily verified from my Paytm account”.

Denying that he is a resident of Govindpuri, as mentioned against his name in the FIR, Rinku Yadav expressed shock. “I live in Mahendragarh (Haryana). I have not made any other transaction on Paytm except recharge” he told ET. Dilip Jha, another suspect, said “The last purchase made by me was a phone which I had ordered from Flipkart and I have not returned it”.

Vikas Yadav, whose address is mentioned as “Gali number 13, Govindpuri” said he is Vikas Thakur and not Yadav. “Am a resident of Rohini. I have never used Paytm”, Thakur said. Sushant Sood whose brother’s name figures in the second FIR registered by CBI told ET “My brother’s name is Sachin Sood and not Chaudhari (as mentioned in the FIR). He has never used Paytm”.

Interestingly, customers registered with Paytm under names like “Hotty killer” and “brother” figure in onthe CBI’s FIR. Mobiles of both “Hotty killer” and “brother” were found to be out of reach. Also, addresses of all the 22 accused belong to only four places: Govindpuri (9); Saket, Sainik Farm & IGNOU road (6); Bilwara, Rajasthan (4), Mathura (2) and one in Lodhi colony. Detailed questionnaire, repeated calls & Sms(es) sent to Paytm went unanswered.

Suspecting involvement of its employees in the fraud, Paytm’s complaint, given to the CBI, reads “the fraudulent refunds happened through the use/illegal use of user ids and password of employees of company entrusted for this task. Hence, either the employees themselves or some person associated with them or some unknown people have fraudulently refunded the order amount with common intentions to wrongfully gain along with such involved customers”.

A CBI official, on the condition of anonymity, told ET: “The role of company’s employees is under the scanner. As per its (company) own complaint, the fraud seems improbable without the involvement of their own employees”.

It is pertinent to mention here that the company has alleged, in its complaint “that the accused persons first acquired knowledge as to how the system of company works and then conspired to book orders, take deliveries of products at common addresses known or belonging to them and their accomplices and then made or managed false and fabricated entries in the computer system of the company”.

The complaint further reads the accomplices “approved/made fraudulent refunds against the same orders, the delivery of which were successfully taken by them or their accomplices”.

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